These Connections
by Sapphire Brilliance
Summary: Zechs and Trowa. They're connected by a past based on secrets and lies. A present filled with problems the other can help solve. And a future neither considered happening. 6x3
1. Birth

Disclaimer -- I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters.

Warning -- Language, Male/Male, crossdressing. The characters are OOC. I will post any other warnings as they come.

Pairings -- Zechs x Trowa, other pairings possible or changes in pairings stated.  
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The birth of a girl...

"Wow. I knew the Peacecrafts were rich, but this...." Cathy trailed off as she continued to stare in shock.

With a name like Peacecraft Manor, she expected a large house or a mansion, not a freaking palace. She quickly glanced at Trowa, who was standing next to her. As usual, his face was expressionless.

"Ms. Bloom."

Cathy turned her attention to the woman who had just walked up behind them.

"I'm Mrs. Thomas. I'm in charge of the household staff."

Trowa stood a little bit away from Mrs. Thomas and Cathy as they talked. He glanced around despite not really being interested in the house or its surroundings. This wasn't their house. They were just going to work there. Well, Cathy was. He was just the tag along who was going to act as her assistant. Although, at a place this size, they should have a pretty big stable. Maybe they'd let him help with the animals. Trowa returned his gaze to the two women and noticed that Cathy was frowning slightly. He moved closer so that he could hear what they were saying.

"Someone should have told you that we no longer accept male employees." Mrs. Thomas said. "If you could get a female assistant then maybe...."

Trowa heard enough so he stopped listening. He couldn't believe he heard that. They didn't allow male workers here. What kind of weird stipulation is that? Weren't there rules against things like this? Then again, rich people did whatever they wanted. Unfortunately that meant that Cathy was going to be denied the job because of him. He couldn't let that happen.

"I am not a boy." he suddenly said in a girlish voice. "I worked with the animals so it was easier to dress like this."

This consisted of large jeans, ill-fitting turtleneck, old black jacket and work boots. Mrs. Thomas focused on him and looked him over. From her expression, it wasn't hard to tell that she didn't think he looked like a girl. But he didn't look like a boy either. It was that lack of distinction that let him create room for doubt. He could either be a feminine boy or a masculine girl. And Mrs. Thomas seemed the type to be too well brought up to ask which he was . He noticed that she lingered on his hair for a second. Trowa nervously ran his hand through his hair and then "unconsciously" began twisting a lock of it.

"Not everyone appreciated a girl doing the things I did." he said sighing deeply. "And sometimes they couldn't help but to let it be known."

He mumbled the last part, but made sure it was loud and clear enough to be heard. It took a few seconds but Mrs. Thomas' eyes widened slightly as the implied reasons behind "her" boyish haircut sunk in.

"I'm very sorry for the confusion. Let me show you to the rooms you'll be using." she said after clearing her throat.

For her part, Cathy stood back and hoped that the shock she felt wasn't showing on her face. Truthfully, she didn't know what was more shocking. Trowa's convincing portrayal of a girl. If she didn't know any better, she'd be questioning his gender too. His mannerisms and body language just screamed girl. Or seeing and hearing so much emotion, even if it was fake, coming from the usually stoic boy. As they started to follow Mrs. Thomas, Cathy moved closer to him.

"Thank you Trowa." she whispered.

He just shrugged his shoulders as a way of saying she was welcome. Honestly, it was the least he could do for her. She had taken him in and cared for him when no one else would. And once she had gotten the job here, it had never even crossed her mind to leave him. In fact, he was all set to be left behind when she came in and questioned why he wasn't packing already. So if he had to act like a girl to help her then he would.

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_The birth of a supermodel..._

"Seventeen." Trowa mumbled absently as he was stuck with another pin.

"Sorry." Cathy replied.

They both knew she wasn't. Her barely concealed smile told him otherwise.

"If you would stop fidgeting then I wouldn't stick you."

"If you wouldn't stick me then I wouldn't fidget."

"This is the last one for today."

"Aw, and just when I was getting used to him looking so pretty too." Duo said.

Trowa playfully glared at his friend who was sitting on the couch playing with his camera.

"This coming from a guy with a long braid."

"No talking about the braid."

"Anyway, thanks for helping me with this." Cathy said.

This was modeling the dresses she made so she could either finish them up or see how they looked on someone. It had bothered him at first. What boy would want to be told that he had a perfect figure for wearing dresses? But he quickly got over it. It wasn't the first time he had worn women's clothing and knowing Cathy, it wouldn't be the first. Hell, he had **lived** as a girl for a few years at Peacecraft Manor so playing human mannequin honestly didn't faze him. He was about to say something to her when a flash of light went off behind him followed by Duo laughing. Trowa tilted his to tell him to stop only to be blinded by the flash going off a few more times.

"Duo, I'm going to kill you."

Anticipating his next move, Cathy grabbed Trowa before he could lunge for the camera.

"Oh no you don't. This dress is made of white silk. I am not about to let you mess it up." she said and then turned to Duo. "And you, I will not feel guilty about chopping off that braid."

Cathy chose that moment to stick Trowa with another pin.

"Eighteen." he said still watching Duo.

And another one.

"Nineteen."

And another.

"Twenty."

Can't forget one for good luck.

"Twenty-one. Damn it Cathy."

Just like she wanted, Trowa forgot about Duo and turned his attention to her.

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_Weeks later..._

Trowa stepped off the shuttle and sighed. This was the part of his return trip that he hated, the two hour layover. After a two day trip, he was cold, tired, and just wanted to get home. Since he had time, he might as well go find some place to get a snack. His phone began ringing just as he walked out of the station. From the ring tone, he knew that it was Duo. Trowa reached in his pocket to answer it otherwise Duo would just keep calling.

"Hello Duo."

"You sound like hell. You okay?"

"Yes, just tired from the trip."

"Maybe you should think about not going."

"Don't start. I already know how you feel about it."

"Something happened didn't it?"

"Not now Duo. If that's all, then I'm going to hang up and find somewhere to eat."

"Don't hang up." Duo yelled. "I've done something that you need to know about. I want to tell you before you find out for yourself."

"What did you do?"

"You promise you won't be mad."

"I promise. Now tell me what you've...." Trowa trailed off as his phone fell from his hand.

He vaguely heard Duo calling his name but he was too busy looking up at a huge billboard with his picture on it. Not just any picture, but the one Duo had taken while he was helping Cathy a few weeks before. The one with him in a dress. To the side was a small perfume bottle and across the bottom was the caption, "Do you Dare? She does." After another minute of staring, he bent down and picked up his phone.

"Duo, why is my face on an ad for women's perfume?"

"There was a contest for fresh faces and Cathy and I entered yours as a joke. It didn't help that we had drunk a little too much alcohol that night either. Imagine our surprise when we got a call saying you won."

"I didn't give my consent for my picture to be used."

"By entering the contest you give your consent."

"You do realize that we're both going to be arrested for fraud since I'm male."

"They never specified a gender."

"Fine, what's done is done. A few weeks and this particular campaign will be over. No harm done."

"Well.... You see.... Don't kill me Trowa."

"God Duo, what else have you done?"

"You've seen the ad right? You look good in it. I mean really good."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

Trowa said a silent prayer that this wasn't going where he thought it was.

"They want to hire you to model for them."

It did go where he thought it was.

"You didn't tell them yes did you?"

"No. I said you'd think about it."

"Duo, must I once again remind you that I'm male. I doubt I'll be able to hide that particular secret."

"They're willing to pay a lot for you."

Trowa paused. He really could use the money.

"Look, just think about it on your way here. You take a few pics and they pay you a lot of money. How hard could it be?"


	2. Lawyers

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters.  
Warnings: Characters are OOC and it's cliché. Crossdressing, homosexual situations, language. I will post any other warnings as they come. It's short. Sorry.

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_"How hard could it be?"_

If Trowa had really thought that question through, he would have realized what a bad idea it was. But Duo's enthusiasm and the lure of the prize money had him agreeing. It had only taken a day and a half to take pictures for the perfume company. It was everything that came after that proved to be hard. Never in his wildest dreams did Trowa believe that other companies would see the ads and want to hire him. He had declined their offers at first, but the price they offered kept rising and Trowa soon found himself accepting. Honestly, how could he turn down fifty thousand dollars? He needed that money and it was more than he would make in two years. Being a model was hard. Being a boy pretending to be a girl was difficult. But being a boy pretending to be a girl working as a model was excruciating. Secrecy was essential, but there were millions of things that could easily go wrong. Trowa had been forced to be overly cautious, down right paranoid, most of the time. At all times he had to make sure that Katrina couldn't be connected to Trowa Barton, which meant that he literally had two lives. He worked hard to always be aware of how he talked, walked, dressed, and acted, as well as who he interacted with as each personality.

Having someone see him undressed was definitely out of the question. That was a major complication for him because at some point in a model's career, you were expected to change or be naked around others. Yeah, it won't be hard to see that he wasn't like other little girls. To keep the number of people who touched or was close to him too much to a minimum, he only had an entourage of one. His best friend, Duo, was his manager, assistant, stylist, hairdresser, make-up artist, and bodyguard, basically his everything. Because of Katrina's many "quirks," she was quickly labeled eccentric. Rumors of shyness, scarring, touch phobias, and other theories ran rampant throughout the modeling world. Instead of working against Trowa, the rumors worked in his favor so he never confirmed or denied them. In fact, clients willingly accommodated his "special needs" because he agreed to take less money for doing so.

It was challenging but he did manage to have some fun times. And of course, the money was great. Unfortunately, no matter how good things were, it was inevitable that they would go bad. It started out small and snowballed from there. The press began paying Katrina more attention, which meant digging into her and Duo's pasts. They began to asking too many of the wrong questions when they couldn't find what they were looking for. Even the clients started to demand more from him like wanting him to do partially nude or bathing suit shots. Add to that vindictive models, a forming ulcer and personal issues outside of modeling and Trowa knew it was time to call it quits. He actually hadn't meant for it to go on for as long as it did. With a few carefully placed rumors and innuendos about Katrina's stability, he went about breaking any contracts he had. Because many of the clients were so afraid that Katrina would breakdown and ruin their shows, they let him. All except one that is. Katrina had turned down his offer to sleep with him and now the asshole refused to let her out of the contract. Trowa had tried to get him to change his mind but nothing worked. He wanted to make her pay for her rejection. So that's why Trowa, as Katrina, currently found himself in a lawyer's office discussing the details for the job that would fulfill the contract.

"What happens if I don't do both shows, leave early, come late or not show up?"

"You can still be sued for breach of contract. Since all of that is specifically discussed in the contract, it..."

"I understand." Trowa said interrupting him.

There was no need to hear what else he had to say. There was no getting out of this. Either he did the job or possibly be sued for millions, which he didn't have.

"Very well then. A room will be waiting for you at the hotel. Your clothes will be delivered to you there. Everything else will be done right before we start. Any questions?"

"No."

"We'll see you on Friday then."

Trowa put his sunglasses back on; he had never taken off his coat or hat, and quickly left. If he had to stay there any longer, he was sure he would do or say something he shouldn't. An hour later he found himself walking through the front door of his second home, a large studio apartment that Trowa had gotten for next to nothing because it needed to be fixed up. Duo lived here full time while Trowa had his own small apartment half an hour away. Because of the many ways to sneak in and out of the building, it was used as Katrina's base of operations. The first thing he did was change into something comfortable. He then went to find Duo who was in the kitchen cooking.

"I'm doing the show." Trowa said as he sat down. "It was either that or court."

"Will you be paid for it or are they making you do it for free?"

"We're still getting the original offering price."

"You should be given more since you have to work with that asshole. What are your plans for afterwards?"

"Katrina will never be seen or heard from again. We can have a bonfire with her clothes."

"A bonfire with her clothes?" Duo asked with a grin.

Or not, Trowa thought as he returned the grin. Most of Katrina clothes were designer or designer originals and would be put to better use sold off rather than turned to ash. Just a few more days and Trowa would finally be able to be done with Katrina.

* * *

From the moment Zechs woke up, he knew that today was going to be the day from hell. He had barely woken up when things began going wrong. His clock hadn't gone off so he was late to work. Once there, he found that his secretary had gone into labor two months early leaving stacks of unfinished work for him to do, and that the replacement secretary was incompetent. Unfortunately that fact wasn't discovered until she informed him, in the middle of an important meeting, that she had shredded the documents he needed for said meeting. And now his perfectly peaceful lunch had not only been cut short but totally ruined by his father's lawyer and what he had just told him.

"He wants me to what!?"

"Millardo please, you're making a scene."

A quick glance around told him that people were indeed looking at him because of his outburst. Well, they would have to excuse him for disturbing their meals but he had just been informed that his deceased father was still trying to ruin his life. He sat back down at looked at his father's longtime lawyer and friend, Albert Reynolds.

"I'm sorry. He wanted you to be married."

Zechs shouldn't have been shocked but he was. Yes, his father had tried to micromanage his life. But to go so far as to demand, in his will no less, that Zechs be married before he could officially take over the family's company was unbelievable. His father had spent years trying to get him interested in Peacecraft Inc and now that he was, there was a possibility of it being taken away from him. Zechs unclenched the fist he was making under the table. He refused to let this happen. The company had nearly been run into the ground before he stepped in to save it. With his hard work, he had restored it to its former glory and then some.

"I tried to get him to reconsider, but he wouldn't listen. He was adamant about you getting married." Albert explained. "Your father just wanted you settled."

"I know exactly what my father wanted. I didn't play his games then and I refuse to play them now. Thank you for informing me of this." Zechs said as he stood and walked away.

He heard Albert calling after him, but he ignored him. If he stayed and listened to anymore, his anger was going to get the best of him. Right now he needed a clear mind to figure out a way around his father's will. Zechs had every intention of keeping _his_ company without getting married.


End file.
